1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a snare tensioner for use with a snare drum, in particular to a variable snare tension system including a positive locking mechanism.
2. Description of the Related Art
Snare drums typically include a plurality of wires, or snares, which contact a bottom drumhead of the snare drum so that the snares are vibrated by the vibration of the bottom drumhead when the snare drum is played. A strainer is typically used to tension the snares in order to change the tone produced by the drum by changing the position of the snares so that they are either in contact or not in contact with the drumhead.
Conventional strainers for snares use a lever directly connected to a piston, wherein the lever pivots about an axis generally perpendicular to the piston, so that when the lever is pivoted from one position to another, the piston drops and the tension in the snares is released so that the snares are no longer in contact with the drumhead. Some of these pivoting lever for strainers can only be operated so that the snares are either in contact with the drumhead (snares-on mode), or not in contact with the drumhead (snares-off mode), and are not adjustable to different tensions in between. Further, the strainer tends to be tensioned or released quickly, so that the snares make an unwanted “throw-off” noise against the drumhead, which is very undesirable, particularly for orchestral musicians. Other prior art systems permit intermediate adjustment of the snare tension between the snare-on and snare-off modes using the strainer.
Snare tension may also be fine tuned or finely adjusted by a tensioner system, usually with a turnable knob which is rotated to finely tune the tension in the snare to change the tone produced by the drum. However, the tension knob system in the prior art strainers typically rely on friction to hold a particular tension adjustment but the friction resistance can be overcome during heavy play. As a result, the player must constantly adjust or retighten the snares during play.
The need exists for a system and assembly for positively locking the snare tensioner system to prevent slippage or disengagement during performance or play.